Rebekah Levine Coley

Ph.D.

Contact

Education

Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan

Postdoctoral Training, Demography & Public Policy, University of Chicago

Research Interests

Primary focus on delineating the key family, school, and community processes which transmit economic and social inequality to children's and adolescents' development. Incorporate longitudinal, multi-method, and evaluation methodologies to inform social and educational policies at the local, state, and federal level. Specific research foci include: family and community poverty; housing and community development; family structure and parenting; father involvement; early childhood education; and youth health risk behaviors.

ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families of the Life Course (Australian Research Council). Baxter, Principal Investigator. Collaborative research centre seeking to advance basic, applied, and translational research to reduce intergenerational and log-term economic disadvantage and improve the life chances of poor children and families.

Peer Effects on Children and Teachers in Preschool Classrooms (Administration for Children and Families). Coley, Principal Investigator. Secondary analysis of longitudinal data on children in state-funded preschools to assess the role of peer effects on children's academic and social development and on classroom instructional quality.

Socioeconomic Disparities in School Readiness Skills and the Role of Early Education and Care. (Spencer Foundation). Coley, Principal Investigator; Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, Co-Investigator. Delineates the role of early childhood education programs in ameliorating or exacerbating economic disparities in children's cognitive and behavioral school readiness skills.